


assistance

by asexualrey



Series: the bruises and contusions will remind me what you did when you wake [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Broken Bones, Gen, Injury, Injury Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 08:46:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8243387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asexualrey/pseuds/asexualrey
Summary: Keith managed to break his leg and Lance almost feels sorry for him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this one is more lighthearted than the rest lmao
> 
> also i probably should have mentioned this before, but all the one-shots for this series are based on prompts people have given me on tumblr. if you'd like to submit one, head on over to outtacommission.tumblr.com :)

Lance never really imagined that Keith could look so pitiful. He almost feels sorry for the poor guy. He might have, actually, if it hadn’t been Keith’s fault in the first place. Shiro had already given him a long, stern lecture about his rash decision-making—Lance had listened through the door and was actually kind of alarmed at how hard Shiro was on him. It was probably because Keith had given all of them a good scare, and sometimes Shiro gets mean when he gets scared, but Lance couldn’t bring himself to make any jabs at Keith afterwards. 

Especially not when he’d watched the way the red paladin struggled with the crutches and the bulky, cumbersome cast encasing his entire left leg for the first time. He would have thought that Alteans would have some cool, futuristic alternative to huge casts, but it seems he was mistaken. It’s not plaster—he doesn’t know what it is, exactly—but it appears to be just as heavy and unmanageable as the casts on Earth. 

Lance feels a tug of sympathy in his chest when Keith comes hobbling into the rec room on the crutches Coran had outfitted for him. For as agile and lithe as he usually is, his movements are rather clumsy and awkward. 

He makes his way slowly to the middle of the room where the floor is depressed into the ring of couches. Lance watches on with mild amusement from the place where he lounges with a holopad, not teasing but certainly not helping as Keith stands at the edge and looks down at the couches with a weary kind of irritation. He looks tired, dressed in a T-shirt and boxers that are scrunched around the top of the cast. Bandages peek out from under his bangs and the sleeves of his shirt, and Lance can see the scrapes and bruises that resulted from his crash peeking out from under those. He really looks like a wreck. And the defeated expression on his face doesn’t make him seem any less like a kicked puppy. 

Lance tilts his head. “Need some help?” He almost feels bad about the condescending undertone, but he can’t really help it. Besides, this is a golden opportunity and he would be a fool to pass it up. 

Keith, predictably, shoots him a nasty scowl. “No.”

Lance only replies by setting the pad down and continuing to watch the red paladin stare down at the couch like it had personally offended him. 

A few long, silent moments pass. Lance stares while Keith glowers, face growing redder and redder. 

Finally, Lance shifts. “Are you sure?”

“ _Yes_ , Lance,” Keith immediately snaps.

Lance draws up his legs and crosses them. “Why are you even here? I thought you’d be sulking in your room.”

Keith’s face is unusually pinched. “I was just leaving.”

He turns on his crutches slowly and awkwardly. Lance can’t help but crack a smile at the sight. If Keith had use of both legs, he’d no doubt be storming out right now as fast as he could. It’s honestly kind of sad to see him struggle so much with the inhibition of the cast and the crutches. 

Then he stumbles. One crutch gets caught on the floor and he staggers forward with a strangled cry. 

Lance is launching himself off the couch and rushing toward him before he can even think about it. He’s not fast enough to stop Keith from losing his balance completely and watches in horror as he crashes to the floor in a heap. 

“Keith!” He skids to a halt beside the fallen boy. “Shit, you okay, man?”

Keith starts gingerly pushing himself up, shoving off a crutch that fell on top of him, and groans. “Ow.” 

Lance takes the crutch and sets it on the floor out of the way before taking Keith’s arm and helping him sit up in a position that doesn’t stress his leg. “You good?”

Keith winces and hisses through his teeth. “Y-yeah.”

“Are you sure? You went down pretty hard.”

“I’m fine.” But there’s still pain in his face, in the way he’s clenching his teeth. He runs a hand down the rough surface of his cast and tries to push himself up. 

Lance frowns. “Does your leg hurt?”

“My leg always hurts, Lance. I told you, I’m _fine_.” He’s back to growling now, struggling to rise off the floor. 

“Let me help you,” Lance says insistently. He really does feel bad for Keith. It’s easy to be amused by his struggling, just because it’s _Keith_ and he kind of did this to himself, but Lance isn’t stupid enough to miss the fact that the injury has been really hard on him. Keith’s been pretty verbal about how frustrated he is with the impediment, but he doesn’t readily accept help unless he knows he has no choice. 

He seems to reach that conclusion now. His jaw grinds again, but he reluctantly accepts Lance’s outstretched hand and let himself be pulled upright. “Coran better get the pods working again soon,” he grumbles under his breath. “I don’t know if I can deal with this for another month.”

Lance picks up the crutches and helps Keith get them under his arms. “Do you need some pain killers?”

Keith looks away sharply, doesn’t say anything for a few long moments. Then, finally, he huffs loudly. “Yeah.”

“Thought so.” Lance kind of wants to gloat over the fact that Keith’s been reduced to accepting help from him, but wisely thinks better of it. No need to make him clam up any more. “Come on, let’s get you settled on the couch and I’ll get you some.”

Keith silently lets Lance help him onto the couch and get his leg propped up. Lance can tell he’s getting too tired to keep up the grumpy facade. Now he looks more exhausted and in pain than anything. 

“Want anything else?” Lance asks. 

“Tell Hunk to come in here and keep me company.”

Lance makes an offended noise and presses a hand to his chest. “What, am I not good enough you?”

“No. Get Hunk in here.”

“Ouch, Keith.”

“Go get my meds, Lance.”

“So demanding.” Lance shakes his head and starts out of the rec room.

“Lance?”

He pauses, shoots Keith a questioning look over his shoulder. 

He’s peeking out from behind the back of the couch so that only his eyes and above are visible. “…Thanks.”

Lance smiles warmly. “Don’t thank me. I’m gonna tell everyone about how you tripped over nothing and fell flat on your face.” 


End file.
